The issue of building a wastewater treatment plant for the capital of Montenegro, Podgorica, which is planned in the village of Botun in the municipality of Zeta (the border is not clear, because Podgorica and Zeta have not demarcated), has been occupying the attention of the Montenegrin public for months and threatens to lead to a breakdown in government or the loss of a lot of money from the European Union.
Solving the ecological problem of the capital of Montenegro, which has an outdated collector, has been delayed for years, but by the end of this year it must be clear whether a new collector will be built and where.
First a referendum, then a government response
The residents of Botuni have been protesting in tents for almost a month against the announced construction of a plant in their village. They have long been protesting against the collector, claiming that it will endanger their health and the environment. They are also supported by the municipality of Zeta, which has scheduled a referendum on the issue for Sunday, December 14th.
One of the protesting locals, Jagoš Bećirović, tells DW that a final decision will be made after the citizens of Zeta vote in a referendum on whether they are in favor of a collector at that location.
"We will organize a citizens' meeting next week and announce further steps there," says Bećirović.
12.747 citizens of Zeta have the right to vote in the referendum, but it is not binding on the capital city of Podgorica, its leaders say.
Mujović: The offer of the government and city authorities is fair
The residents of Botun met with Prime Minister Milojko Spajić and Podgorica Mayor Saša Mujović on Wednesday. They received guarantees that the government would remediate the former ecological black spot in Botun – the red mud pools, that harmful gas emissions would be constantly measured and that the collector would be shut down if pollution exceeded EU directives.
"I truly want reason to prevail, because I believe that the offer from the government and the capital's authorities is extremely fair. The facility is not a polluter, the health of citizens is not at risk, and there is no reason not to start construction on the defined location," Mujović tells DW.
Zeta became an independent municipality three years ago, and until then it was a city municipality within Podgorica. To this day, the issue of the demarcation of the two municipalities has not been resolved, which further burdens cooperation.
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Chapter closure and EU money at risk?
If construction of the wastewater treatment plant does not start by the end of the year, the capital of Montenegro could be damaged by around one hundred million euros. The plant in Botun is the largest environmental project the European Union has supported in Montenegro so far, providing almost 33 million euros in grants for the new sewage system and collector. This covers over 40 percent of the total investment, with additional support through a loan from the German development bank KfW.
The city of Podgorica signed a construction contract with the Turkish consortium Kuzu Group 2022, and EU officials have repeatedly stated that the criteria from Chapter 27 - environmental protection - cannot be met until construction of the facility in Botun begins.
In negotiations with the EU, Montenegro committed to having a total of 29 wastewater treatment plants (newly built and/or renovated) by 2035, so that 95 percent of the population would be connected to the sewage system.
The plant in Botun should solve the issue of wastewater treatment from the capital, because the existing one was built in 1978 and was designed for 55.000 residents, while Podgorica today, according to the 2023 census, has almost 180.000 residents.
The collector confused the government, exposed the essence?
The leader of the ruling Democratic People's Party (DNP), Milan Knežević, and his party colleague and president of the Zeta Municipality, Mihailo Asanović, attend daily protests by the residents of Botuni who do not want a collector.
Knežević announces that his party will leave power in the city of Podgorica if the works begin, and then that it will leave the Government of Montenegro – if the police "start beating" the residents of Zeta.
Of the parties in power, the SNP is against the construction of the collector in Botun, as are local officials of the Democratic Montenegro and the New Serbian Democracy. At the state level, the leaders of all these parties follow or do not publicly oppose the plan of the government and the capital to build the collector in Botun.
Because of all this, one gets the impression that Botun may be just a show for the public and that politicians are abusing several hundred villagers who have been living in an environment poisoned by red mud for decades and fear that the collector could further endanger their health.
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